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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30117111">Making the Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovemuppet/pseuds/lovemuppet'>lovemuppet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baker Gabriel (Supernatural), Boats, Break Up, Dead John Winchester, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hunter Gabriel (Supernatural), M/M, Read and find out!, Runaway Sam, getting back together?, hunter corp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:15:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30117111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovemuppet/pseuds/lovemuppet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Castiel finds his brother Gabriel Novak, he's trying to enjoy his much-needed day off. Unfortunately for Gabriel, lost ex-boyfriends don't just find themselves.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gabriel/Sam Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Gabriel Big Bang</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Making the Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A Gabriel Big Bang entry Based on amazing art by alexiescherryslurpy &lt;3<br/>Link to Art: https://alexiescherryslurpy.tumblr.com/post/646014100727595009/watercolour-for-gabriel-big-bang-done-as-a</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>"<b> <em>You can't ride in my little red wagon</em> </b>," Miranda Lambert declared through the handheld radio on the deck next to Gabriel Novak's folding chair. </p><p>"You tell him, Mandy." </p><p>It was the middle of the afternoon, and the harbor was quiet. Small waves lapped at the side of the boat as a breeze rolled through and Little Richard, Gabriel's dog, sighed in the patch of sunlight on the deck. Gabriel popped open his root beer with a novelty opener, letting the bottle cap land wherever it wanted, and brought the bottle to his lips, finally relaxed. It was the very beginning of some much-deserved time off. </p><p>So, naturally, someone needed a favor. </p><p>Little Richard’s ears perked and his collar jangled as he lifted his head to scent the wind. He jumped up from his place on the deck to stand on the gunwale of the yacht and watch down the dock. His tail sputtered in recognition and was a blur behind him as a figure in a tan overcoat came into view. </p><p>Gabriels’ eyes narrowed. “Please let that be some <em> other </em> tall, dark stranger in a stupid trench coat.” </p><p>There were only a handful of people who knew where his slip was in the harbor, and only one of them had wild, dark hair and an aggressive 5 o’clock shadow. Gabriel’s youngest brother, Castiel, stood squinting down into the yacht from the docks. </p><p>“Hello, Gabriel.” </p><p>“Hey little bro,” Gabriel cheered overly bright, “what are you doing in my neck of the woods?” </p><p>Castiel looked grim. Well, grimmer than usual. His blue eyes dipped down and he put his hands in the pockets of his coat. </p><p>“I need to borrow your boat.” </p><p>Gabriel cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. Castiel<em> hated </em>boats. On the one (and only) occasion Gabriel had needled him into taking a quick ride to the next harbor for lunch, Castiel threw up the entire time and stumbled around the deck on wobbly legs. He insisted on taking a taxi back and never agreed to give it another go, no matter how smooth Gabriel promised the trip would be. Even now he was looking at the yacht dubiously. Whatever was wrong, it must be serious if Castiel was considering chartering a boat of his own free will. </p><p>“What’s the matter, Cassie? You making a break for it? Tryna leave that himbo husband you hooked already?” Gabriel joked, turning off the radio. “You’ve only been married a <em> month </em>, I think that’s a new family record, kiddo.“ </p><p>His attempt at levity fell flat. </p><p>Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose.  “It’s not for me. I need it to go look for Sam.” </p><p>“You want <em>my</em> boat to go get <em>Sam?</em>” Gabriel’s heart wrenched painfully hearing his ex-boyfriend's name. Whoever said that time heals all wounds probably meant more than just six months. </p><p>And of course, that gaping hole in his chest didn’t exactly scab over when Cas followed up with, “He went on a hunting trip three weeks ago and he hasn’t come home.”</p><p>Gabriel took a steadying pull of his root beer and snorted, “I’m surprised Dean doesn’t have him lo-jacked.” </p><p>Castiel sighed and leveled him with a long-suffering look, and Gabriel nearly spit his drink out. The flood of relief was almost heady. <em> Of course, </em> Dean had a way of keeping tabs on his little brother. That was practically the first lesson they gave you in “Big Brother School”. Michael, for example, called every day. Lucifer stalked your social media and dug through your garbage. </p><p>Gabriel himself was a big fan of kidnapping. He'd take his little sisters out for a boat ride up the coast and not port until they've properly caught up. Castiel, who he saw more often now that they worked together for the same company, kidnapped under the guise of going to lunch. He’d lock the doors and drive until he opened up. Castiel of course wasn’t a fan of this brotherly love language and would sit stubbornly silent for hours. They once drove from Pontiac all the way to Las Vegas before Castiel finally admitted to him he was lonely. A fact that Gabriel, being a savant of a big brother, already knew or guessed given Castiel’s horribly isolated bachelor lifestyle. </p><p>Of course, Gabriel didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Now that Castiel had married Dean Winchester, he’d never be truly alone. </p><p>“So you know where Sam is then. You don’t have to go looking for him.” </p><p>Castiel gestured out to sea “The tracking device on his plane shows that he’s five or ten miles out at those stupid islands you kept trying to get him out to.” Alright so maybe Gabriel tried kidnapping Sam regularly. But he promises that this wasn’t a brotherly kidnapping, and he fully intended it to include a passionate night on a private island. A full-fledged attempt to fuck Sam into a better mood. And, it wasn’t as though he had been <em> wrong </em>, there had obviously been something up with Sam.</p><p>“Sounds like <em> someone </em>’s just gone AWOL.”</p><p>Castiel nodded, looking now out at the horizon where the islands were. "That's what the general consensus is. We’re more worried because he hasn’t <em> called </em>and you know how Sam is about that.” </p><p>Gabriel knew. It was part of the reason they had split up. </p><p>Gabriel grew up in a family of fiercely independent people who were tied together by blood. Outside of Michael, no one kept in daily contact, and half the time he only really called to be nosy. Sam's personal brand of care sometimes reminded Gabriel too much of his older brother. The only difference was Gabriel could blow Michael off without repercussion. Sam...not so much. If Sam couldn’t get a hold of you, he worried. Case in point, they had first met each other when Sam, unable to get a hold of his brother on Christmas Eve, crashed a Novak family dinner with a Hunter Corp swat team to rescue him.  </p><p>It had been a little endearing at first to be worried over, so Gabriel attempted to check in and ease Sam’s anxiety. But, admittedly, he wasn’t perfect about it. Actually, sometimes he’d take off for days without calling or messaging anyone. How Sam got any work done on those days, Gabriel didn’t know. He’d check back in and his voicemail box would be full.  </p><p>Gabriel put his hands up in surrender. “It’s my boat and my little hang-out spot, I'll go pick the brat up.”</p><p>“I don’t want to drag Sam back,” Castiel said quietly, “I know he needs the vacation time. But, Dean’s beside himself. I just need to know he’s okay.” Castiel frowned, keeping his pity to just a glance.“You don’t have to go, just let me use your boat.” </p><p>Gabriel stood, folded his chair, and leaned it against the door to the cabin. “No offense, Cassie, but you can’t drive a go-cart through an open field. I’ll go.” Even with how things ended between them, if Sam wasn't okay, Gabriel would much rather find out for himself than sit and wait out on the docks alone and boatless. “I’ll text you when I put my eyes on him.” </p><p>Castiel sighed, looking equal parts suspicious and relieved he wouldn't have to drive a boat while trying to keep his lunch down. “If you’re sure.” </p><p>“Yeah. You look like you could use a break yourself. Husband of yours running you ragged? Sam says he hates running the company, how’s things?” </p><p>“Exhausting. For both of us. Hunting, the actual job, he’s fine with. The paperwork, I help with. But talking to those lawyers and businesspeople? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason I have an agent. Neither of us is good at playing nice with ‘the vipers’.” </p><p>Gabriel pulled the rope from the dock. He chuckled a bit Imagining Dean having to play nice with a bunch of board execs, trying not to punt a pencil pusher across the room for referring to hunters as ‘assets’ or focusing too much on making a profit. He also felt a stab of sympathy for Castiel. It was hard enough sometimes to placate Dean Winchester when he got full of righteous indignation, but it must be twice as hard to do it when you’re filled with it too. And boy could Cas burn you alive with those eyes of his when he got worked up. </p><p>“Tell Dean not to worry,” Gabriel said with a breezy smile as Little Richard jumped up onto the passenger's seat, “me and Dick’ll go sniff him out.” </p><p>Castiel wore admiration for his brother openly and it warmed Gabriel into a smile.</p><p>“Thank you, Gabriel.” </p><p>He saluted with a wink, “No problem, bro. Brb.” </p><p>Gabriel shoved off and navigated his way out of the harbor. </p><p>
  
</p><p>He had been a baker at one point. He had owned his own bakery in downtown Chicago that did well. He made a comfortable living and had a hot executive boyfriend who hung around until closing time so they could fool in the supply cabinet. It was a good, mostly normal life.  Even so, he couldn’t escape the allure of the job Dean Winchester had offered him hunting down supernatural items for Hunter Corp. </p><p>He got paid to travel to foreign places and rob rich homicidal maniacs. And maybe it was years living with Michael, Lucifer, and his father, but Gabriel turned out to be damn good at it. </p><p>Most of the family had been concerned about the sudden career change, especially Michael, who hadn’t really understood the choice to open the bakery in the first place. To them, it should have been satisfying to be doing work that you enjoy, to have a steady relationship with someone who, as a bonus, was successful. And maybe he<em> should </em> have been satisfied. </p><p>Sam didn’t seem to like the idea of Gabriel working such a dangerous job and talked him out of selling the bakery a few times while they were together. After they split up, there wasn’t anyone stopping Gabriel. He sold the bakery a week after they broke up. </p><p>A week after Panama. </p><p>Panama had been… An experience; one Gabriel almost hadn’t made it back from. Hunter Corp had caught wind of a sale going down over rare ingredients that could be useful for a shield spell. The way Dean pitched it, all Gabriel would have to do was go to a black-tie party in Panama City and wait to be approached by the witch. Together they’d go to a secured second location and make the sale. </p><p>And that’s how Gabriel pitched it to an anxious Sam over dinner just before he left. But of course, things never run as smoothly as you expect them to. </p><p>The witch with the product wasn’t as exclusive with her offer as she had led them to believe and tried to start a bidding war between Gabriel and another witch over some herbs. It was irritating but hunter corp had some deep pockets and Gabriel figured Dean would pay whatever the total would be.<br/>Except, in this case, the “Rare and Exotic Ingredient” was Oregano. And while Gabriel thought it was funny, the other witch didn’t exactly share his sense of humor. He found himself caught in the crossfire of two very pissed-off witches.</p><p>While they were busy blasting holes in the walls and cursing each other, Gabriel snuck out of the room quietly and pilfered what he could from the witch's pantry, hot-footing it out of dodge with a satchel full of other valuable ingredients. </p><p>And if that had been the end of the adventure, he probably would have remembered to call Sam. He got as far as the airport before the peddler witch caught up with him, and they played probably the most terrifying game of airport hide and seek before Dean borrowed a fucking plane to get Gabriel home. </p><p>He nearly kissed the tarmac when they touched down on American Soil. By then he had a full inbox and one pissed-off boyfriend. </p><p>Gabriel went straight to the Hunter Corp Headquarters to smooth things over. Sam’s office had been dark and cold, Gabriel’s hair stood up on the back of his neck.</p><p>He plastered on a carefree smile. “Hey, Samsquatch.”</p><p>Sam glared, his face tired and careworn. “Glad to see you aren't dead, asshole.”<br/>Gabriel grimaced, suddenly regretting he hadn’t tried to at least shoot an “I’m alive” text message when he got safely onto the plane; calculating all the points in which he could have said something to say he was safe. Sam was the head honcho. Of course, he knew what had happened but Gabriel had only just this moment confirmed that he was alive himself. </p><p>He tried to keep a light tone to put Sam at ease, “All in one piece.”</p><p>“Yeah well, you could have let me know that hours ago! I had no idea what was going on, Gabe.” </p><p>Sam was right, he didn’t have any idea. But he could have. Gabriel folded his arms and said, thoughtfully, “You know, you wouldn’t have been so worried about me if you just tagged along for once. I must have asked you about a million times to come with me.”<br/>Sam scoffed as if the entire idea was ridiculous. “You just wanted to ‘have kinky hotel sex.’” </p><p>Gabriel’s eyes flashed, “I did, but you know that’s not the only reason I asked.” </p><p>Sam's mouth drew tight in frustration, “I already told you I can’t.” He crossed his arms and muttered looking away “It wouldn’t kill you to pick up the phone.”</p><p>Gabriel could have left it at that, could have just said, “I’ll try better next time,” but he persisted, “Why can’t you? When was the last time you took a vacation?” </p><p>Sam sank in on himself. The answer was, Gabriel knew, not since John died. He and Dean had been on vacation, some cabin up north with their uncle when they got the call. Bill and John had gone out for a routine hunt that turned out to be anything but. Bill had wanted to call in more backup but, short-staffed as they were in hunter corps early days, John convinced him not to. They hadn’t been too far off from Sam or Dean either, from the sound of it. John called, just once. Right before he died to say goodbye, but Sam and Dean had been out. </p><p>Gabriel scrubbed his face, “Dean’s the Vice president, isn’t he? Let him do his damn job for a week, Sam. Just one. Hell, I'd settle for even just a weekend. We can go to that little place I keep telling--”<br/>“Gabriel.”</p><p>Gabriel knew he shouldn’t push, that he should be patient. He knew, but he was tired and a part of him hurt every time Sam chose work, choosing to be accessible to every hunter in the company 24/7, over having anything more with him than a few stolen hours in the middle of the night or a quick cup of coffee and a donut at the bakery. Gabriel understood. When he was in his right mind, he<em> understood </em>how Sam felt. But at that moment, he really wished he could pull John Winchester out of their relationship. </p><p>If what they had could even pass for that anymore. </p><p>“Fine. I’ll just leave this junk here for you and get out of your hair, Sam. Like any other employee.”<br/>“Gabe.”<br/>Gabriel shook his head, closing his eyes. “Just. Call me when you can get some time off.”<br/>Sam’s face pinched and his entire body went rigid, “Really?” </p><p>Gabriel put the satchel on Sam’s desk with a rueful smile. “Yeah. I’m seeing that life’s pretty short in this line of work. Let me know when you’re ready to spend some of it with me, I’ll be around.”</p><p>He left and, outside of Dean and Cas’s wedding, he hadn’t seen or heard from him since. </p><p>
  
</p><p>The islands weren’t very big, and, during a low tide, you could actually tell that it was just one large island that flooded in spots when the tide came in. He had been going out to them for years to escape his family and only had to share the spot with quiet sport fishers in the spring and rambunctious party-loving young adults in the summer. Little Richard perked up when he saw the smattering of trees from his seat and his tail thumped against his leather seat patiently. </p><p>There were two old, man-made docks on the island, one on the end that faced the harbor and one that faced away from it. Gabriel's heart sank when there was no plane waiting at the near dock. But he pursed his lips and readied the boat to skirt along the island to get an unobstructed view of the other dock after they rounded the bend. There at the other dock was the seaplane, fully intact that he could tell from the bend.</p><p>Gabriel scanned the shoreline for Sam but saw no one. “Shit. Come on, Sam-shine.” With the seaplane taking up the whole doc, Gabriel knew he’d have to bring his boat up to the sandy bank of the island and anchor there. He’d have to get out and look for the big baby if he was going to find him before it got dark. </p><p>Just as he was about to take the boat ashore, Sam stepped out from the tree line. He was shirtless and wearing shorts that slung over his hips suggestively. His hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of his head and his face was sporting a healthy-looking, full beard. It seemed less like he was stranded, and more like Sam had decided to take an impromptu photoshoot for People’s “Sexiest Man Alive!” </p><p>
  
</p><p>Sam got a glimpse of the boat, nearly dropping the rag he had in his hand. He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand and smiled sheepishly. </p><p>The wind picked up as the boat drifted closer to land and brought a breeze in from the island. Little Richard scented the wind and must have caught the scent of Sam. He raced over to the bow of the boat barking and whining for Sam who busied himself with guiding the boat onto the soft sand. </p><p>The instant the boat came to a stop, Little Richard launched himself off the boat and into Sam’s arms, startling him into a laugh.  </p><p>“Hey buddy, I missed you too.” </p><p>Gabriel tossed the anchor over the side of the boat and it hit the water with a plunk. He glanced at Sam as he tied the ropes down on the sails, “I see you finally made it out here.”</p><p>“Yeah. I- Dick! Hold on buddy,” Sam said, trying to calm Little Richard down as he squirmed in his arms. ” Yeah, I’m here.” His cheeks were mottled with a blush; he cleared his throat and asked, “Cas and Dean send you to come to get me?” </p><p>Gabriel shook his head and sat at the point of the bow, hanging his legs off the side of the boat, “Nope, you can stay out here and play bigfoot all you want. I’m just here to make sure you’re still breathing.” Sam put Little Richard down on the Sand to burn off some of his excess energy. He stepped closer to the boat and Gabriel leaned even further to say casually, “Cas wanted to steal my boat to make sure you were still breathing.” </p><p>Sam laughed weakly, ringing the rag in his hands. Up close, Gabriel realized it was one of his high-end polo shirts. </p><p>“What happened? You lose your keys?” He swatted Sam with the side of his foot, keeping his tone light so he wouldn't have to decide whether he was more upset or relieved to see him. </p><p>Sam’s eyes widened “yes! I did actually!  “Wait a second, you didn’t run off? This actually is a rescue mission?” </p><p>“Sort of? I dropped them off the side of the dock after I shut off the plane. They landed in the sand somewhere.” </p><p>“You drop your radio too?” It came out harder than Gabriel had intended he opened his mouth to find a joke but closed it again with a wince. </p><p>“No,” was all Sam said before they lapsed into silence, both of them watching the dog run and sniff things on the beach. Up close Gabriel could see the little scrapes and nicks that peppered Sam’s sun-tanned skin and the light dust of freckles on the very tops of his shoulders. He let his eyes rake over Sam unnoticed and they stopped at the waistband of his shorts. </p><p>"Where did you get that machete," He asked. </p><p>Sam looks down at it, his lips pursed. "It was for a hunt."</p><p>“Cas mentioned you were on one of those,” Gabriel nodded, “Not like you to go alone, Sam.”<br/>“I wasn’t alone.” </p><p>Gabriel grimaces. He wants to ask what happened. More than that, He wants to say something, anything, to lessen Sam’s pain.  But there’s nothing to say. Sam hadn’t taken it well if he had locked himself on an island for two weeks.</p><p>“If your radio does work, I can leave you here if you need more time, Sam.” Gabriel offered plainly. </p><p>Sam shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I-I’m ready to go home. I, uh, I could use a shower.” </p><p>Gabriel snorted. “Do you need to take anything with you?” </p><p>“Yeah, it’s in the plane, let me get it and we can get out of here.” He pushed off the boat and walked off toward the Sea Plane, Little Richard trailing behind him. When he came back he was carrying two black duffle bags, one slung over each shoulder, and Little Richard. Gabriel helped him board and after depositing his burden on the deck, sat in the seat he used to occupy when Gabriel could bully him into a night in the harbor.</p><p>“There’s some of your clothes still down there under the bed. They’re probably cleaner than the ones in your duffle bag.” Gabriel said, pulling up the anchor. </p><p>“You kept my clothes here?” Sam asked quietly. </p><p>Gabriel shrugged “It wasn’t much, just a couple of t-shirts and a pair of pants.” He sat down in the captain's chair and shot Cas a quick message while Sam ducked into the cabin to inspect the clothes. Gabriel called down after him, “You know Sam, I don't have to take you home right away.” </p><p>Sams voice wafted out from below deck, “I should get back to the office.” </p><p>“It’s Friday. Dean can handle one more weekend.” Gabriel countered easily.</p><p>Sam emerged from the cabin pulling his old purple dog shirt over his washboard abs. He asked distractedly, “How’s he been with that? He hates--”<br/>“--Talkin’ to the suits. Yeah, I know. But he’s fine and if he isn’t, he’s got Cas to fuss over him about it. ” </p><p>Sam nodded and took his seat again. “You were right. I should have trusted him more.” </p><p>“Yeah, you should have. Dean’s not stupid.”<br/>Sam sighed, “I know, I just… I didn’t want to ask him. I felt responsible, you know? He’s a hunter, not a businessman. And now I’ve gone and filled his life with expense reports and--”</p><p>“What’s really eating at you, Sam?” Gabriel said waving a hand in front of his face as if to blow away some of Sam’s bull shit. </p><p>Sam sighed and looked out over the water and the seaplane growing smaller in the distance. “I...I lost Bess’s cousin Brad on a hunt. I just--I’ve been so focused on making sure no one ever died hunting.”<br/>“Sam that not--”<br/>“I know. It’s not possible. Not with what we do.” Sam laughed darkly and then scrubbed his face with a groan. “I was so <em> sure </em> that if I worked hard enough, micromanaged the business…”</p><p>“Sam,” Gabriel cut in lightly, “did you know every year more than 25 people die getting their tonsils removed?” Sam shook his head. Encouraged, Gabriel hazard a glance at him and asked gently, “How many hunters died last year?”</p><p>Sam’s face crumpled and his eyes dewed, “four.” </p><p>“And how many hunters died before Hunter Corp existed? We don’t even know because no one knows who they even were. I can tell you it was a hell of a lot more than four.” Gabriel made one last turn away from the island's back toward the harbor. “ What you’re doing saves people Sam, but that doesn’t change the fact it’s still a dangerous job.” </p><p>Once the yacht was driving itself home without much effort on Gabriel’s part he asked. “Why did you tag along anyway? You haven’t been on a hunt in a couple of years, right? ” </p><p>Sam ducked his head, embarrassed. “I needed to get out of the office.” </p><p>Gabriel laughed with a knowing nod, pulling two root beers out of the cooler under the steering wheel.  “The newlyweds being a bit too much?” </p><p>Sam took the root beer gratefully and popped the cap off with his ring. He motioned for Gabriel to hand him his to do the same. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them but they just make everything look so effortless when it’s not.”</p><p>Gabriel took his soda back from Sam and looked away.“Love like that is hard to come by. Or keep.” </p><p>“I’m sorry Gabriel. I overreacted,”  Sam all but blurted, nearly spilling his soda. </p><p>Gabriel’s heart gave a painful start but he kept his expression guarded. Not wanting to let himself hope, he teased “Yeah the whole survivor look you had to go on there was a little much.” </p><p>“Not--” Sam pursed his lips and pushed past the irritation “Not that. I’m sorry about how things ended… <em> that they ended </em>.” </p><p>“Don’t be. I know how it is. Childhood trauma. My dad’s not exactly father of the year but I’d hate for something bad to happen to him.” </p><p>“Did you really sell the bakery?” </p><p>“Yeah. I did.” </p><p>“Why?” Sam worried. </p><p>A wicked grin spread over Gabriel’s face. “I was starting to find the bread business stale.” Sam groaned and smiled his first real smile of the night. More seriously, Gabriel added. “I mean, your brother pays me pretty well but talking rich people out of their stolen trinkets? Going undercover? Disappearing for a bit to go on an adventure? It’s fun. And I’m not actually hunting anything so I’m not usually in much danger. Low risk, high reward. ” </p><p>They floated back toward the harbor, chatting easily; the glittering city lights and the harbor sat on the horizon. The ocean was smooth like a black, glass mirror that reflected the lights of the city behind the harbor, making it look like they were completely suspended in space. Sam stood behind Gabriel, chest to back, not touching but near too. </p><p>“I miss you,” Sam said suddenly. Gabriel hummed and leaned an ear toward him to listen, trying desperately not to read too much into those words.  “I thought, keeping you out of this business would keep you safe. But it occurred to me, when I was out there, in your spot. That I wasn’t making any time outside of the business for you. I don’t know how many times you tried to get me out to visit or to come with you when Dean passed you an assignment.” </p><p>“Don’t beat yourself up about it. I didn’t get into this game to spend more time with you. I did it for the thrill and the six-figure salary. ” </p><p>Sam laughed heartily and pulled Gabriel in a little. He brought Gabriel’s hand up to his face and kissed the palm of his hand. Gabriel let him, warmth spreading through his body.  “Gabe, I’m not going back in until Monday. If you still want me, we can blow off course a bit.” </p><p>Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. “Where would you want to go?” </p><p>“Anywhere. Just take me with you.”<br/>They decided to anchor right there, surrounded by the sparkling lights of the city on the ocean and kissing slowly. For once they have plenty of time. </p><p> </p>
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